


Age of Chronos

by hamlittlelion



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-17 12:11:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20620826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamlittlelion/pseuds/hamlittlelion
Summary: After the Byers departure in October of 1985, the small town of Hawkins hurries itself into normality yet again. With many deceased or missing after the Starcourt fire, the small town begins to rebuild in the wake of tragedy. Officer Calvin Powell is promoted to Chief of Police in lieu of Jim Hopper’s untimely loss. He works hand in hand with the new mayor of Hawkins to bring much needed normalcy to the small town.However, it is not all that simple as the cast of characters will realize. Temporal anomalies begin to present themselves in Hawkins and the Byers Family must make their return.Meanwhile, a familiar figure makes his appearance in Hawkins after being presumed dead.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Byers Family arrive to their new home only to find out hours later that something strange is happening in Hawkins. Much to Joyce's dismay, she must return after hearing what sounds like an urgent voicemail from Murray Bauman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello - this story will be about 5 or 6 chapters long. It is what I imagine might happen in Season 4.

Orange and red leaves littered the empty road, flittering with the wind as Joyce drove at quick speeds in the U-Haul. The woman sat forward, chest pressed against the steering wheel as she tried to find her turn. She drove only two streets further before finally making a right onto the street that lead to their new home. The middle-aged woman was excited to finally give her kids and herself a fresh start - one that Hawkins could never give to them. There was too much trauma in their hometown for any of them to start new… Too much history that none of them could bear to live with, at least Joyce felt that way. 

Joyce parked into the driveway of the small ranch - similar in size to her previous home. She took in a deep breath as she prepared to start the rest of her day’s activities: unpacking and arranging furniture. 

“Welcome to your new home, kids.” She said, looking at El and Will who had sat with her throughout the entire journey. While she was used to Will’s quiet nature, she had not yet grown used to El’s. Especially when she knew that they’d both lost someone important to them only three months ago. 

Will turned to his mother with a polite smile. “Mom, El and I are gonna step up Cerebro.” He said as he began to scoot towards the door, nudging El to get out. 

Joyce opened her mouth, ready to disagree with their plan but she hadn’t the heart in her to say no. Not when she knew that both their whole lives were back in Hawkins waiting for a simple radio-call. She finally gave a single nod, “Just… set it inside and then you both have to help unpack, okay?”

“Yes.” Whispered El giving Joyce a gentle smile. She quickly popped the door open and hopped out. She stretched for a moment before running to grab Cerebro from the car which Jonathan had driven in. Will followed quickly, big eyes observing the surrounding area. 

The house was similar to that of his old home yet instead of being encased by woods, there were actually other houses. They had neighbors yet still enough room to run around in the yard. Maybe there would be other kids just down the street - Will thought perhaps he wouldn’t have to ride his bike for a mile just to get to his best friend’s house only to ride another few miles to get to the others. 

Both Will and El picked up Cerebro from the trunk and began shuffling towards the house. Will could instantly feel his body straining to lift the large machine - couldn’t they all have just settled for a normal phone call? Why did Dustin think this was a good idea, it’s not like they were in another state like Suzie. 

“Mom! The door - please!” Will shouted as he and Eleven inched closer to the door of the house. 

Joyce turned away from her conversation with Jonathan, who’d driven all alone to their new home. She quickly followed the kids to the door, fiddling with her keys as she searched for the correct one. Jonathan stood by the U-Haul, eyes swollen from crying nearly the whole drive there. For a year now he had gotten used to Nancy’s constant company and affection… Now they were apart and he wasn’t sure how long it would be before he drove right back to her. Shit, if he could, he wanted to turn right back now. However, he knew he couldn’t and that’s what made him cry the whole way to their new home. This was a chance for a new start for him and ideally - for Nancy as well. He’d formulated a whole plan to save money until he could afford an apartment and move in with Nancy. It wasn’t the most well thought out but it gave him hope for now.

It wasn’t long before the kids had stepped their first foot into the new home. Their eyes filled with wonder at the new home. They quickly shuffled towards a bedroom and set down the large machine on the floor. El looked around the room, the structure of the room was similar to that of her old room. It gave her a heartache as she thought about when she and Hopper had began to remodel his cabin. She could remember the way Hopper’s music rang throughout the small cabin as she pushed furniture around with her powers. When he realized that she had been cheating by using her powers, he had laughed and lectured her about having to take the bumpy paths sometimes. 

> _ “Sometimes, kid, struggling is worthwhile. Nothing good comes easy.” _

El could feel the tears welling in her eyes as she stared towards the windows of the bedroom. Her face flushed red as she tried to contain her sobs. She could feel Will’s eyes glued to her. Will hadn’t been sure what to say either. 

“Hey… We should head back… Help unpack and stuff.” He said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

El blinked slow and heavy before looking at the thin boy. She gave a nod as she pursed her lips and followed him out. The two kids rushed out of the home and began helping Joyce and Jonathan haul furniture into their new home. 

\-- _ 6 hours later -- _

“This is El and Will, do you copy homebase?” Will said into Cerebro’s talking piece, sitting beside El within her bedroom. The furniture was all setup and her closet filled with the handful of clothes she owned.

There was a long pause before Mike Wheeler’s voice popped in. “Will! El!” He shouted, voice clearly out of breath as if he’d just ran.

“Guys! Where have you been?” Came through Dustin’s voice, lisp slightly apparent as he grew excited at the sound of his friends’ voices. 

Will and El exchanged looks as they listened to their friends.

“We just got done moving in.” Answered Will, eyes staring at Cerebro.

“What? It shouldn’t have taken you guys a week to setup Cerebro. It was literally already built.” Dustin said. 

“What are you talking about?” Asked El as she grabbed the talking piece from Will. “It has only been…”

“We saw you this morning. It’s been hours. Why are you guys being so dramatic?” Interjected Will, head dipping close to the talking piece. 

“No - it’s been a week.” Mike answered, his eyebrows narrowed with frustration at the arguing. “Today is October 14th.”

El narrowed her eyes in confusion and looked at Will. The thin boy matched her expression - the last time he checked it was October 8th and the last time he checked was… This morning. 

The kids began shouting amongst themselves as they tried to figure out what was going on. It wasn’t long before Joyce was bursting through the door and gesturing for the kids to keep it down only to be dragged into the conversation. 

Amongst the madness, of shouting kids, Joyce can only manage to leave the room and head towards the landline. There was only one other adult who knew everything she knew about Hawkins - who was as “nutty” as herself. That adult was Murray and with that, she called and was met with the following voicemail:

> _ "Hi, you have reached the residence of Murray Bauman. Mom, if this is you, please hang up and call me between the hours of 5 and 6pm as previously discussed, ok? _
> 
> _If this is Joyce, Joyce, thank you for calling, I have been trying to reach you. I have an update. It's about, well, it's probably best if we speak in person. It's not good or bad, but it's something…”_

With that, the brunette mother decided that Hawkins was not yet done with her or her kids. They had to return as soon as possible.


	2. Chapter One: Perimeter Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party prepares for the arrival of the Byers family. Upon meeting, they share important information as they try to figure out what is causing the time anomalies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy this. This chapter is a little bulky compared to the prologue.

Chapter One: Perimeter Control

_Darkness. Stifling air. Frigid. _

This is what greeted Billy Hargrove upon waking. He could feel pounding in his skull - it drummed at an unevenly painful beat. As he lie there, he racked his brain for his last memory but it was slow to come. The memory felt distant as if it’d happened long ago yet he knows it must have been yesterday - he crashed into something on his way to meet Mrs. Wheeler. Did he get drunk? He must have - it would explain the severe lack of memory and the pounding in his head. Though, he knew he wasn’t a lightweight. Billy groaned as he attempted to sit up - his head slamming harshly against something hard with a felt cover. 

Billy kept his head slightly lifted off the ground as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He clearly wasn’t home… He clearly - He began to shift, soon realizing there wasn’t much space to move. Only a few inches left, right and up. The realization only seemed to hit him harder as he began to struggle for air. Panic set in - his eyes bulging as he thrashed his body around trying to find some type of opening to the confined space he found himself in. 

How long had he thrashed around for? He isn’t sure. He only knew the sense of hope that radiated through his chest when he heard the _ crack _ of whatever was confining him from above. He pushed and pushed until he managed to grasp what felt like a handful of cold dirt. He climbed up, lungs filling with dirt as he pushed through until finally - his hand broke through a barrier. His palm brushed along, grasping desperately at what he made out to be as wet grass and fallen leaves. He pulled himself out of the ground, coughing desperately - dirt spewing from his mouth and nose. When he finally was able to breathe, he took a look around at his surroundings. 

There were orange, red, and brown leaves trickled across fading green grass. The trees engulfing the area were nearly stripped of leaves - branches flowing slightly with the breeze. More notably, there were gravestones sticking out of the ground all around him. The one just behind him the most shocking of all - it read his name and July 4, 1985. A date he never remembered living through. Billy pulled himself completely out from the ground, sitting by his grave as he stared in bewilderment. There were few things he was sure of in that moment - but one thing he knew: time had gone by without him. 

As much as he wanted to sit there and allow a wave of depression to overwhelm him - he knew it wouldn’t provide him with any answers. 

Billy Hargrove was a man of action and he needed to move. For this reason, he stood despite the pounding in his head and made his way into town.

\--

Fallen leaves whistled through the air, blown by the cold and damp autumn wind. They scattered through Main Street where locals of Hawkins strolled casually - shopping bags in hand as they prepared for Halloween. With Halloween fast approaching, many teens found themselves frequenting the Hawkins’ Video Store and to greet them was Steve Harrington. Currently, the young man appeared to be chewing gum absentmindedly as he leaned his upper torso onto the counter, elbows resting on the top. Despite the long haired boys absent look, he was very much present - more present than any customers that wandered through those aisles. Just below his elbow rested today’s copy of the Hawkins’ Post. The headline read:

MISSING EX-EDITOR OF HAWKINS POST APPEARS IN HAWKINS

_ by Nancy Wheeler _

The article details the long months that Tom Holloway - the aforementioned ex-editor - had gone missing without a single trace. However Steve, Nancy and the whole party knew the truth behind the circumstances of Holloway’s disappearance. Nonetheless, the article then detailed that on October 18th, three days earlier, Tom Holloway walked down Main Street towards the grocery store without a care or worry in this world. Tom Holloway walked down the sidewalk as if he had never gone missing. A statement by one of the officers who interrogated him said he was _ “confused beyond all belief. I mean, this guy couldn’t even get the year right!” _ Shortly after being questioned by police, they left Holloway alone in the interrogation room so that they could discuss Holloway’s claims. When the officers returned, Holloway had disappeared from the locked room. The rest of Nancy’s article outlined the many other townsfolk that reappeared with no sense of what year it was only to disappear a few hours later. Steve wasn’t one to read the newspaper in the past but ever since Nancy began to write articles in the Hawkins Post - Steve, too, began to read. He simply wanted to support her and with her publishing all these details… It was his only way of keeping up to date with every little going on within the party. It also gave him something to do to fill the boring hours at the video store. To say the least, it definitely worked - his mind kept busy these past two weeks with all this temporal crap.

Last week, Dustin informed Steve about the aforementioned temporal anomalies. These temporal anomalies were confusing to begin with and frankly speaking, Steve didn’t quite get any of it. However, when Dustin had told him, things weren’t as complicated as they are now. A week ago dead people weren’t magically reappearing and then disappearing. The group of kids and Robin were able to calculate how much time would pass in Hawkins by the time Byers’ clan had arrived - One week exactly. It was a waiting game, an awfully slow waiting game. Steve Harrington was used to action. When Jonathan Byers had stalked Nancy, he took action - albeit not the smartest or kindest… But he took action. When he realized he’d messed things up with Nancy, he did his damnedest to win her back. When Dustin reported a weird lizard ate his cat… He took action. Now? He was forced to wait because there weren’t any clear answers or even a direction in which to head. 

Maybe it didn’t help that Steve just felt useless in all of this. Nancy had a job where she was able to stay informed on all anomalies. The Byers mission was to get back. Murray… Well, Steve wasn’t sure where he had gone actually, now that he thought about it. Even Robin had proven herself to be useful despite not having many years of experience with the Upside Down like he and the others. He’d debated telling Robin about the anomalies in the first place but ultimately decided that he needed to tell her. He needed his best friend in on this. He couldn’t handle getting beaten to a bloody pulp again without her at his side to make fun of him. Currently, she had stepped out to grab them both lunch from the diner and thus he was left alone with his thoughts.

“This is Perimeter Control radioing in, this is Dustin… Block Busters, you there?” Came in Dustin’s voice through the walkie talkie hidden beneath the store counter. 

Steve perked up at the sound of Dustin’s voice. It wasn’t happiness or excitement, it was relief that washed over him. The kids were, as always, a constant worry for him especially today when they’d decided to head out on their own. They blatantly refused to wait for him so that he could help set up a perimeter marking the ends of the anomalies. Steve sunk behind the counter, grabbing the walkie into his hands and checking in. “This is Block Buster One radioing in… You guys okay?” He asked.

“Yeah. We’re alright, kind of hungry. I didn’t pack enough snacks.” Dustin admitted, slightly out of breath.

“I told you to pack enough for the whole day, Henderson.” Steve said with a sigh. “How’s the perimeter coming along?” He asked, pressing the walkie close to his ear to listen to the next part.

“Uh - yeah. I mean - it was easier to map out in theory. We definitely don’t have enough yarn to wrap around the trees… I think we’ll have to head back soon.” Dustin said. 

_ Ding. _

The bell attached to the front door jangled as a customer entered the area. Steve sighed. 

“Hold on. Customer.” He whispered into the walkie as he stood up and readied his usual line to entering customers. Though as he stared at the customer, nothing came from his mouth. The greeting caught in his throat and something new formed before his mind could even catch up -

_ “H-Hargrove?” _ He whispered.

Meanwhile, in the woods, Dustin sighed as Steve put him on hold. He was sitting on the trunk of a tree watching as Mike wrapped red yarn along a tree to mark the end of the temporal anomalies. A little ahead of him was Lucas and Max as they argued about the best way to conserve their yarn - Max seeming to feel they should just mark trees with an engraving. However, the moment was broken suddenly by a scream. Dustin quickly perked up looking around to his group of friends only to note that Mike was gone. 

Dustin stood quickly, eyes wide as he looked to the place where Mike had just been. “_ Mike! _” He shouted and ran towards the large tree he’d marked with yarn - Lucas and Max following suit with horrified expressions.

“Down here! Be careful!” Mike shouted from what seemed like below the ground. The tall slender boy stood up, palms rubbing against his pants to get rid of the goo that stuck to him. He looked back and forth, eyes narrowing faintly as he recognized the area he was in…

It was the tunnel - the very tunnel they’d lit on fire a little over a year ago. Well, it _ looked _ the same. Long flesh like tendrils working as walls, where dirt should be instead - the constant sound of slithering whispered at Mike’s ears. The raven haired teen looked up as he heard Dustin curse at the sight.

“Shit…” He said staring down from above, Lucas and Max touching their heads with his as they peered in as well. Dustin quickly clicked onto his walkie, “Perimeter Control over and out.” he quickly tossed the walkie aside on the ground, arms quickly reaching into the hole in the ground to pull up his best friend. 

Once Mike was above ground, he looked at all his friends - his lips drawn into a straight line at their discovery. 

“What the _ hell _ do we do now?” Asked Max, tone harsh and eyes bulging as she stared among them.

Dustin looked between them all. No one knew what to do… Or say. Though Dustin was sure they were all thinking the same thing - the Upside Down wasn’t gone. It clearly still lingered just below them and perhaps was the cause of the anomalies. Which meant that there had to be a gate somewhere in Hawkins yet again. Dustin sighed and looked at his watch. “We gotta head to the arcade. Will and El should be getting there soon.”

Mike swallowed a bit and nodded. He stood with his friends and made way to the ensemble of abandoned bikes nearby. “They could just be left over from last time, right?” He suggested. “It might not be the Upside Down.” He continued, fist gesturing vaguely in the air.

The kids only stayed silent, exchanging looks between each other. It was wishful thinking but they knew better than that by now. They had to get to the arcade - they had to meet with the others. 

\-- 

Joyce parked in front of the arcade - the designated meeting point between her family and everyone else. Jonathan sat in the passenger seat, gazing out the window at the street. He was literally here two days ago and yet… He knew it had been much longer for everyone here. For Nancy, she had not seen him in two weeks. They had only spoken once in two weeks. Jonathan knew it was not his fault but he couldn’t help but feel guilty that she was alone in all of this. He couldn’t wait to see her despite the mess they all needed to figure out.

Will and Eleven sat in the back seat sharing a small glance. Will sat up, leaning towards the front to talk to his mom. “Is it okay if we wait outside of the car, mom?” Will asked.

Joyce looked at him, then gave a brief nod. “Of course sweetie.” She answered, hands clasping together anxiously.

Both kids gave nods and quickly exited the car. They walked towards the front of the car where they were out of earshot from Joyce and Jonathan. Will glanced back towards them then quickly at Eleven who met his gaze. 

“Did you feel that - when… When we got into Hawkins?” Will whispered to her.

El crossed her arms along her chest and gave a nod. “Yes… I could hear… static?” She whispered back, unsure if she was describing the noise accurately. It was a noise she was used to hearing whenever her abilities activated or whenever the gate to the Upside Down was open. 

Will gave a brief nod. “I can… _ feel _ it… Like when I could sense the Mind Flayer… But it was…” He shook his head as he tried to describe the sensation. “It’s not the Mind Flayer… It just felt like something was watching us.”

“Yeah…” Whispered El in response, simply staring at the ground. 

In the distance, El and Will could hear the ringing of bells followed by the shouts of familiar voices. When the two looked towards the sound, they saw their friends riding their bikes towards them like a calvary. Upon arrival, Mike is the first to bounce out of his bike and into El’s arms. The others soon invaded their couple’s hug and turned it into a group hug - Dustin being the one to turn it into a group thing. 

When they all pulled apart, Mike was the first to speak. “We found a tunnel underground… Like… Upside Down looking tunnel.”

Will’s eyes widened slightly, exchanging a glance with El. 

“Where?” Will asked.

“Really far, like towards the edge of the town.” Answered Lucas.

“We felt it as soon as we got into Hawkins.” Explained El.

Mike narrowed his eyes though before he could pose any questions, Nancy pulled into a parking spot beside Joyce’s car. In the passenger seat was… Murray Bauman. All of the adults emerged from their cars, Jonathan and Nancy embracing each other warmly while Joyce and Murray exchanged quick formalities. 

“Let’s get to it.” Murray said, cutting the formalities short. “After… Hopper - “ He paused for a brief moment, glancing at Eleven who winced at the mere mention of her father. “Well… After all of that, I found it suspicious that the military of our country would take _ hours _ to appear. So I got a hold of some call logs…”

Nancy quickly snatched a folder of papers that he was hiding behind his back. She was growing impatient at his dramatic need for telling stories. On any other day she might cater to it - hell, she’d encourage it because it was so amusing… But time wasn’t something they had at the moment.

“Hawkins’ has been speeding through time for a while now. Before it was only a few hours difference and it was constant… But ever since the Mind Flayer died and the gate was closed - the time differences have grown exponentially.” She finished, opening up the folder to show a couple of call logs.

Joyce and Jonathan looked at them with intrigue. Eleven, however, seemed displeased with this revelation. Her hand fished for Mike’s, grasping him for comfort. She wasn’t sure what the revelation meant. In fact, none of the kids were sure. Nancy was looking at them all as if the connection was clear.

She gritted her teeth, lips forming into a slight pout. “The gate… is closed now, supposedly.. And now time is all messed up.” She explained. “They’re connected.”

“Theoretically.” Murray added quickly. “We can’t prove it.”

Nancy rolled her eyes at the addition, looking at Murray, ready to speak but was interrupted by her brother. 

“We found tunnels underground when we were setting up a perimeter… Maybe it’s connected.” He suggested looking between everyone. 

Nancy gave a slow nod, seeming to agree with his idea. “But how?” She said softly.

This put the group at a loss. They had two solid facts and yet… They couldn’t figure out what connected them. What did tunnels have to do with time? As the group stood there in silence, seemingly lost in thought over the two findings - Max’s attention was drawn to Steve’s car pulling in next to Nancy’s. Her eyebrows furrowed as she noticed three people sitting within. Usually it was just him and Robin… She looked amongst the group to see if anyone was missing from their party but… Everyone was present.

She looked back, watching as Steve emerged, and Robin slid from the back of the car. Chills radiated throughout Max’s forearms, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest as the figure slid out from the passenger seat. The figure that emerged was… Well, it couldn’t be. It simply couldn’t be. Yet, it was… Tears formed at the edge of her eyes as she stared at the small group walking towards them. 

Everyone became aware. They all looked and shock radiated among them. Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley… and Billy Hargrove - alive and well, walking towards them. 

  
“ _ Holy shit. _” Said Dustin.


	3. The Tunnels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party gets together to discuss all of their discoveries about the time anomalies. However, the aforementioned anomalies only get more mysterious at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy. It's a long one.

The group sat on pristine white plush couch cushions in Steve Harrington’s living room. They all spoke amongst themselves, voices rising within each small faction as they all tried to conspire about what was going on. Despite their voices being quite normal for such a large gathering - the sound was exponentially louder for the newest zombie boy. Billy Hargrove sat on an ottoman in the middle of the living room simply staring towards his hands as he replayed the last hour in his head. Steve Harrington was nice to him - he didn’t think the fuckin’ idiot could soften up even more but there he was proven wrong at the entrance of Hawkins Video Store. Following that was his reunion with the rest of the group and most importantly his little bitch of a sister. Her reaction was the worst of the bunch - she cried into his chest. Then they all hugged him as if they cared about him - as if any of them had attended his funeral, if there was one. And now? Somehow they all ended up here including him amongst their banter as if he belonged. However, Billy didn’t feel like he belonged. He had no idea what any of them were talking about - their booming voices made the pounding in his head intensify. He could practically feel that pounding in his damn chest and stomach like nausea slowly building. 

Unable to handle all the noises around him, he stood up from his seat and made way quickly towards the next room - the kitchen. He stood at the doorway, face paled and clammy with distress. He stared at the only other person there, Steve Harrington. The slightly taller guy looked over at Billy, brows instantly furrowing at the sight of the dirty blonde. 

“He-hey, man. You should sit.” He said quickly rushing towards Billy and taking him gently by the arm.

Billy snatched his arm away with a grimace, “Don’t touch me, Harrington.” He grumbled. However, he followed him towards the island table and sat on one of the stools. 

Steve moved to serve Billy a glass of water, returning with the cup in hand and sliding it to him. Steve watched as Billy began to sip at the water in silence, watching as some color seemed to return to his face. “I can’t imagine what this is like for you…” Steve whispered as he leaned over the table in front of Billy.

The dirty blonde boy shifted his gaze from the cup of water and to Steve Harrington. The King stood in front of him as if they were friends, as if they could have these types of conversations with each other… “Yeah, you can’t Harrington. You get to sit on your throne real pretty. Untouched.” He growled.

Steve stood back, standing straight as he glared down at the sitting boy. “Listen, man. I’m trying to be… sympathetic or whatever. ‘Cause… ‘Cause you don’t know what’s going on, okay. I’ve been there before. I just… I want to help.” He said, his tone angry at the start but slowly calmed. His glare softened into a delicate gaze towards Billy. 

Billy stared at him, pink tongue poking between his lips to lick at them briefly. He shifted his jaw and looked away. He didn’t want sympathy. He didn’t want to be understood. No one had ever taken the time to  _ understand _ him - why would it start now? Especially from Harrington. Yet, the way Steve looked at him… The way he always absorbed his harsh blows… Maybe he did understand. Maybe he wasn’t lying. Billy finally shifted his gaze away and shook his head, curls falling onto his forehead. “I don’t remember shit, Harrington… So much shit is missing from my mind but - I keep…” His voice nearly cracks as the aching in his head increases at the glimpses of memories trying to flood into his mind. “I keep getting little fractions of shit… And I-I…” He stops as he feels tears burning at his eyes.

Steve watched, brows knitting together with worry as Billy tried to stop from breaking down in front of him. Luckily, they were away from everyone or else he knew that he’d probably lash out. It was a surprise that he had even opened up. “It’s alright, Hargrove… Take your time…” He said gently. The brunette gulped as he extended his hand out to touch Billy’s fist that rested on the table top. His hand clasped gently over his hand, glancing down with a purse of his lips. 

Billy’s gaze shifted to their hands, his mind freezing at the simple touch. Harrington was warm, palm and fingertips soft unlike his own hands that were calloused. He looked up at Steve furrowing his brows and lips slightly parted to begin speaking but he was cut short by another strong jab in his skull. Both his hands shifted to hold his own head as he groaned with pain as a memory played like a movie. The memory was strange - the vision hazy or perhaps the location was just that bleak. The memory began in a tunnel, with flesh like tendrils that wrapped the tunnel like flooring and walls. He… No, no… It couldn’t be him - the memory felt like it came from someone taller and even lighter in size - like a shadow. Nonetheless, he walked through the tunnel for a while before arriving to a cave where multiple tunnels met. In the middle of the area stood a quadruped creature that had greenish flesh and long snout shaped head. The creature was unlike anything Billy had ever seen - it was large, larger than a grizzly bear for sure. It had long tentacle like hair emerging from the back of its skull and two sets of eyes that went down vertically on its snout. At the end of the snout were large intimidating tusks that shift as it opened its mouth as he entered the cave. It looked as if it were speaking, Billy could almost hear a voice in his head as he stared at it… 

“Hey - Hey… Hargrove, breathe. It’s okay.” Steve whispered, his hands tightly clasped at Billy’s wrists in an attempt to pull them away from his head.

It is then that Billy realizes his fists are clenching his curls tightly. He quickly releases his hold on his hair and looks at Steve, not fighting away his grasp on his wrists. 

“Breathe, it’s alright. It’s alright. You’re here. You’re safe.” He whispered again, his grip loosening on Billy’s wrists. One of his hands move to Billy’s cheek, cupping gently. “You’re alright.”

The dirty blonde boy could only stare at the pretty boy in front of him. He could only listen to his soothing voice as it seemed to ease away the ache in his mind. Billy Hargrove gulped, keeping his gaze on Steve’s as he gave him a nod of understanding.

“You with me, Hargrove?” Steve asked.

“Ye-yeah…” He whispered, pulling away from Steve’s warm grasp. He looked towards the living room - the group was still occupied with chatting to each other, much to Billy’s relief. He looked back at Steve, noting the way his head ache seemed to fade now that this memory had come forward. “I… I just remembered something.” He whispered. “There was this weird fuckin’ monster… It was in this dark place with.... With like ash and shit in the air.”

Steve listened closely, hands folding together on the table top. “The tunnels…” He whispered as he recalled when he had gone down there with all of the kids. He glanced towards the others in the living room as they continued to talk amongst themselves. He knew this was important information - information that had to be shared however, Billy was in no state to tell this to a group of yelling people. He could hardly tell him at this very moment. He returned his gaze to Billy, patient as he listened for more. However, the boy stayed quiet. Steve stared at him, hands moving away as he figured it'd made him uncomfortable. "What else do you remember?" He asked gently. 

Billy blinked for a few seconds, brows furrowing at the loss of contact - as if the small touch was keeping him grounded in the moment. He shook his head. "That's it… It was gonna say somethin' to me… But it stopped." He said, looking at Steve. "Does it mean somethin' to you?"

"What'd it look like?" He asked, wondering if the creature had been the Mind Flayer. If it was hiding down in the tunnels… they could easily defeat it down there… If that were to help at all. 

"Looked like… a slimy green bear except no fur." Billy answered with a shrug. 

Steve stared at the other for a long moment - his mind not quite processing what was described to him. It didn't sound like the Mind Flayer and it certainly didn't sound like the Demogorgon. This was something new… Something they clearly had not seen yet. "Anything else?" He pressed. 

"Um…" he scrunched his face and eyes shut as he let the memory play over in his mind. "It feels like… it wasn't me?" He said. "Like it's not my memory." He added, opening his eyes to look at Steve. "That's it…"

Steve nodded and smiled. "That's good, man. That's good… I'm sure it'll be really helpful." He replied, then gestured the cup of water that Billy had abandoned over the past few minutes. "Drink up… I'm gonna talk to everyone else." He said as he walked out of the kitchen and back to the living room. Billy sat at the island, not drinking the water… simply sitting and watching as more memories engulfed him. Some memories were his - one of him hitting that brown haired girl in the living room… While others came from elsewhere. He even saw himself in his own memory, the carrier of the memory sounding much like… Heather. There it struck him - he'd attacked Heather. He remembered now…

As Billy sat in the kitchen, Steve informed everyone in the living room what he'd just been told. Everyone sat silent as they listened but once he'd finished relaying the message, there was an uproar. All of them bustling with questions and theories. Before Steve could shush them up, Joyce stood above them and did it for him.

"Everybody cut it out!" She yelled, flailing her arms up and down. "Enough." She said as they all calmed down. "We need to go one at a time…" She said, blinking slowly as she processed the information herself. She finally sat, arms crossing over her chest. She raised one hand over to her mouth, biting at the skin beside her thumbnail. 

Dustin was the next to stand, walking over to Steve so that he could look at everyone as he spoke. He began speaking; "Okay… So we know there are time anomalies and we can confirm…" He pointed at Nancy and Murray, "Thanks to Detectives Holmes and Watson, that they worsened at the closing of the gate." He looked around as most of the group nodded. "Now… the tunnels we know why they are still around… because something was or is using it." He said, tone unsure of him. He pursed his lips as he thought. "Is it possible this thing is causing these time anomalies?" He wondered aloud looking at everyone. 

Everyone stayed silent as they thought it over. Dustin pursed his lips, looking up at Steve unsure if that made sense. Even if it didn't fully make sense, it was their only lead. 

"Okay, so what do we do?" Asked Nancy, breaking the silence that sat between them all. 

"We have to investigate the tunnels and find whatever that thing is that Billy saw." Responded Mike, looking up past his bangs. His pale boney hand holding onto El's gentler looking hands. 

"What if that thing is down there? What the hell would we do?" Asked Max, her eyes big with obvious worry and annoyance. 

"We can fight it." El said softly. "We've… always fought the monsters." She continued. 

However everyone became silent. No one wanted to say it but… they all thought it: that was when El had her powers. She had nothing now. They were basically just a group of normal humans beings now. 

"We fuckin' kill it." Stated a voice from the kitchen doorway, it was Billy - who had been standing and listening to the majority of the conversation. "Regardless of whatever, we have to kill it. It's not a good thing if it was buddies with that other piece of shit you guys killed." His tone was angry and obvious. To Billy, there didn't need to be a discussion - the answer was obvious: kill it before it killed them.

“I agree…” Nancy said from her seat as she looked at them all. “At the least we should check out what’s down there.” She said. 

Despite the silence that followed after Billy and Nancy’s words, the group slowly agreed and began to formulate their plan. However, the plan would have to wait as night slowly fell on the town. With the fall of night, the group decided to split into smaller factions to rest. The only person to stay at Steve’s home was Billy Hargrove who felt it best that he stay away from home for now. 

While the party readied themselves for bed, Joyce Byers and Murray Bauman decided to grab a cup of coffee at the nearest diner. The diner was dimly lit, filled only by the two adults and a waitress who was hidden away in the kitchen. 

Joyce held her coffee cup tightly in her small hands. She shook her head lightly a small smile forming on her face. “I can’t believe this is happening all over again.”

“Same shit, different day, as they say, Joyce.” Murray said as he took a sip of his coffee, frowning with slight distaste as the shitty type of roast. “I’m glad you got my voicemail. I wasn’t sure how long it would take.” He said with a shrug.

Joyce looked at Murray and nodded. “When you said you had found something… I don’t know. I expected it to be Hop…” She admitted.

Murray simply frowned and looked away. That night was dreadful for everyone. He felt bad for not having clarified over his message but he didn’t want other parties to hear it. His paranoia never lessens, only increases and he didn’t want to risk Russian spies getting a hold of this. Who knows what they would try to do with time anomalies. 

As the two adults sat there in silence, the table began to vibrate beneath them startling them out of silence. Joyce looked to Murray with large eyes, “Murray?” She called confused as she stood slightly. But it was only a second later that everything in the diner began to shift and shake. As the world around them shook, other things seemed to shift in and out of place… For split seconds, people appeared within the diner - like ghosts or shadows, sitting around eating casually. These ghosts of people dressed in what could only be described as 60’s attire. 

Joyce and Murray watched in shock as the world shifted around them, eyes gazing at all these “ghosts” who seemed unaware of the things going on around them. As they stared at their changing environment, their gaze caught on a familiar figure who sat in a booth alone. He hounded at a burger, staring throughout the diner with furrowed brows and an expression of confusion. The figure met Joyce’s gaze and held it. 

“Hop?...” Joyce whispered as he brows furrowed, her hand reaching across the table for Murray who reached for her as well. The familiar figure - Jim Hopper - tilted his head as he stood from his booth holding eye contact with Joyce. His face was younger than the last time Joyce had seen him - his hair longer and his facial hair gone. 

The environment suddenly snapped back into place, returning to October of 1985. The diner returned to its’ empty state as if nothing had happened. Back in 1963, Jim Hopper sat with a mouthful of chewed cheeseburger as he stared towards a now empty booth. 

_ What the hell was that? _ He wondered with furrowed brows. 

It wasn’t the last time he’d experience something like this. In fact, it was only just the beginning. 


End file.
